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Mind wandering as data augmentation: How mental travel supports abstraction
1Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboudumc, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. m.faber@donders.ru.nl.
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|July 11, 2020
Summary
Mental travel, like mind wandering, may support abstraction by providing varied mental content. This expands the understanding of how cognitive processes like abstraction and mental travel interact.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Artificial Intelligence
Background:
- Existing theories propose abstraction is essential for mental travel.
- Mental travel is understood as a key component that relies on abstraction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose that mental travel, specifically mind wandering, can also support the process of abstraction.
- To extend the theoretical framework of abstraction and mental travel.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis and argumentation.
- Drawing parallels between spontaneous mental travel and data augmentation in machine learning.
Main Results:
- Spontaneous mental travel (mind wandering) introduces variability in mental content and context.
- This variability, analogous to data augmentation, is crucial for developing abstract representations.
Conclusions:
- Mental travel may be a reciprocal process that aids abstraction, not just a product of it.
- Mind wandering can serve as a mechanism to enhance abstract thinking and cognitive flexibility.
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